Friday 20 November 2009

owls and other colours


it started as an owl, my dad thought it was a cat. Its not just what you paint and what you think, its where you paint too. I'm in a greenhouse, i'm at the bottom of my dads garden, under a big tree, a cat keeps nosing in on me, staring, only has one eye, and runs off when i call to it, squirrels pass by regularly, my dad comes down now and then, says hello, brings tea, asks me why i don't paint flowers or something, then shuffles back up. Its kind of secluded. I have the radio, jeremy vine between 12 and 2, i play a cd of a play i'm in at other times, try and the learn the lines. If it rains, it does often, it leaks through the middle, my dad doesnt come down so much when it rains, but he does phone. This is a painting thought up in sections. There were some marks on the canvas from another time that i was cleaning my brush. That made out the figure of this owl, then it all slotted together as i went along.



this is smaller. i brought 6 biggish canvases for £55, i wont do that again for a while, these smaller canvases cost £2.50 for 2 from wilkinsons. I was looking at a book on giotto, i like him, i like the way he manipulates reality to tell a story, perspectives are altered, the same people can appear twice or three times in the same painting, its all wrong, but its so elegant and clear, it works, its beautiful. He did one of francis of assissi giving a sermon to birds.

 

this one came out of nowhere that i know of.






its an improvement. its more me. its the right direction.

today and yesterday i was starting to think about how to make money, which i need. I can't do it, i don't mind selling paintings, i don't mind making money, but it all comes out crap when i force myself to try and think up paintings for the purpose of selling, its a waste of time, it never comes out very good, in a saleable way, or any other way. Just have to do my own thing, and hope it all works out.




Saturday 14 November 2009

like something from heaven, Greenhouse

I moved my painting into a greenhouse. It has had, and will continue to have, tomatoes grown in it in the summer, but during the winter it will be empty, and it will be mine...



It has a gas heater, which i'm constantly aware of, and occasionally i imagine it blowing up.. it most probably won't though. And it has a light, which takes a few minutes to light up. Unbelievably, considering such a timewaster i can be, i'm in there working from 10 in the morning til 8 at night, sometimes later, 5 days a week, producing at least 2 canvases a day, and numerous sketches and watercolours. Of course, who knows whether this isn't time wasting..

Last week i went down to Chichester, i came third in the http://www.thenationalopenartcompetition.com/ and won a £1000 because of it. This is the painting i entered -



I had more fun walking around Chichester and looking at the charity shops and cathedral, than i did at the actual viewing. I find private views, and artist get togethers, (and, lets face it, social gatherings,) awkward and embarrassing, especially if i have to do something silly like; explain my work, or accept a prize. The £1000 will come in handy too, as i don't have a job and no-one wants to buy my work. Its one of my best, if not the best paintings i've made though. But hopefully now with my greenhouse, this will change soon.

So far in my greenhouse, these are some of the paintings i've made;











So nothing great yet, but its only been a few weeks so far. Things will hopefully pick up before christmas.

Sorry, i still haven't got used to this blog thing, its going to take a few more weeks to get into it. Thats why the reliance on photographs, but i fail to see what would be interesting about an artists blog if he or she didn't include photographs.


cheerio.



P.s. here's an animation (if you can call it that) i made - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihwRSOqepO0